Arabic

General American, Canada, Mary–marry–merry merger

From Latin arabicus, from Arabia + -icus, from Ancient Greek Ἀραβία (Arabía), ultimately from the Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab).

One day my UN students asked me, "Which is the Arabic country where the best Arabic is spoken?" I quickly replied, "Bosnia." They exclaimed, "But Bosnia is not an Arab country!"

2008, Abdallah Nacereddine, To Be Oneself: The Tragicomedy of an Unfinished Life History, →ISBN, page 342:


Arabic

We’d gone to Arabic school as children and taken lessons in the summer holidays, and I still read the news in Arabic, but it wasn’t like I practised reciting the written language any more, with its complex rhythms and grammatical structures.

2023, Isabella Hammad, Enter Ghost, Jonathan Cape, page 74:

A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa.

The Aramaic-derived alphabet used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others.

ғәрәп яҙыуы

ğərəp yaźıwı


Arabic

Classic Arabic didn't "turn into" the various Arabic vernaculars. There is disagreement over whether the range of spoken Arabics all have a single ancestor (seems unlikely), but Classical Arabic is a somewhat artificial creation based on at least two dialects.

2004 April 22, Peter T. Daniels, “Taiwanese and their language”, in soc.culture.china (Usenet):

That's the majority of working N'Yawkers. Blacks and Hispanics outnumber the arabics.

2000 July 20, Topprolmc, “OT - I participated in an obscene act today!”, in rec.motorcycles.harley (Usenet):


Arab

From Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”) or back-formation from Arabic.

a. 1892, Charles Spurgeon, a sermon
You Christian people often see the little gutter children — the poor little arabs in the street — and you feel much pity for them, as well you may.

The other day I heard you complaining of the nuisance that small ragged street-boys are to you whenever you go out. […] You wished that some one would do something to clear away these little Arabs, as you are pleased to call them, so that a fine old English gentleman—as you are pleased to think yourself—might take his exercise in peace.


Arabist

(anthropology, linguistics) A scholar who studies Arab or Arabic culture, politics, or language.

arabista

a scholar who studies Arab or Arabic culture, politics, or language

(historical) One who followed the Arabic system of medicine or (more broadly) scholarship.

(politics) One that wants to spread Arabic culture; an Arab nationalist.

arabista

politics: one that wants to spread Arabic culture


Arabist

en-adj

Arabist (comparative more Arabist, superlative most Arabist)

more Arabist (comparative)
most Arabist (superlative)

Pertaining to Arabism; medieval Arabic scholarship.

Pertaining to the study of Arabic language or culture.


Arabise

en-verb

Arabise (third-person singular simple present Arabises, present participle Arabising, simple past and past participle Arabised)

Arabises (present singular third-person)
Arabising (participle present)
Arabised (participle past)
Arabised (past)

‘Asalaamu Alaikum,’ said an unfamiliar voice in the faux-Arabised accent of a non-Arab Muslim who is trying too hard, and Parvaiz looked up to see a compact but powerfully built man, muscles distorting the shape of his tightly fitting bomber jacket.

2017, Kamila Shamsie, Home Fire, Bloomsbury (2018), page 123:


Arabize

Arabize (third-person singular simple present Arabizes, present participle Arabizing, simple past and past participle Arabized)

Arabizes (present singular third-person)
Arabizing (participle present)
Arabized (participle past)
Arabized (past)

Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam, eventually adding a new element even to Islam itself.

1999, Bernard Lewis, "Iran in History", Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies, page 2:

(transitive) To make Arab; to give Arab traits to.


Arabicize

Arabicize (third-person singular simple present Arabicizes, present participle Arabicizing, simple past and past participle Arabicized)

Arabicizes (present singular third-person)
Arabicizing (participle present)
Arabicized (participle past)
Arabicized (past)


Old Arabic

Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic#English

The earliest attested stage of the Arabic language, beginning with the first attestation of personal names in the 9th century BC, and culminating in the codification of Classical Arabic beginning in the 7th century AD.


arabicise

arabicise (third-person singular simple present arabicises, present participle arabicising, simple past and past participle arabicised)

arabicises (present singular third-person)
arabicising (participle present)
arabicised (participle past)
arabicised (past)

... its name was arabicised into Bihrasīr ; while the other one in Kirmān was arabicised into Bardashīr.

1930, Journal of the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute - Issues 17-24, page 94:

... these importations, continued by the successors of this prince and by the Mertnid dynasty, soon drove the Berber element into the mountains or absorbed and arabicised it.

1936, Martijn Theodoor Houtsma, Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, René Basset, The encyclopaedia of Islām, page 590:

Despite the many problems a large part of cultural life was arabicised, including primary and secondary education and many arts faculties in universities, broacasting on radio and TV, new items in cinemas, public signs and the judicial system. But, all of these achievements notwithstanding, the centres of power and administration remained French-dominated.

2013, Yasir Suleiman, Arabic Sociolinguistics: Issues and Perspectives, →ISBN, page 38:

To make Arabic, as to customs, culture, pronunciation, spelling, or style.


ghawa syndrome

Named after the resyllabification of dialectal Arabic قَهْوَة (gahwa, “coffee”) as قْهَوَة (ghawa), which is the prototypical example of the phenomenon.

(phonology) A phenomenon in some Arabic dialects in which the second consonant in a word forms a cluster with the first consonant.